Reducing a Carbon Footprint

Rock Hill School District
was looking to upgrade its
video surveillance system
while aligning with its
efforts to save energy. Sustainability
is an important part of the overall
strategy because it not only saves taxpayer
money, but also reduces the school system’s
carbon footprint. Toward this end, Rock Hill
Schools employs a full-time Energy Systems
Manager, Kim Melander.

“With every project, we measure the energy
consumption and report to school board
and administration,” Melander said. “We’re
always looking for the best application with
best efficiency.”

A team of Rock Hill administrators determined
that a “campus blackout” approach was
effective in deterring crime and saving energy.

“We worked with local law enforcement,
school administrators, our energy manager
and our safety director when looking at technical
solutions for our campus,” said Anthony
Cox, Deputy Superintendent for Rock
Hill Schools. “It turns out the requirement to
keep lights on all the time to deter crime is
actually somewhat of a myth. A lot of
research says that keeping the lights off will
lower the crime rate.”

Seeing Clearly in the Dark

The quality of video footage on a dark campus
can be an issue. While a blackout policy may
reduce crime, it also decreases the effectiveness
of traditional surveillance technology to
identify perpetrators. Thus, the challenge for
Rock Hill was to find a video surveillance system
that could operate effectively with high
image quality on a dark campus.

In environments with extreme lighting
challenges, Rock Hill Schools can still use
less LED lighting to meet their efficiency
goals. For these areas, the security system
utilizes Axis OptimizedIR technology
embedded on Power over Ethernet (PoE)
cameras. This allows the IR illuminator capabilities
inside the camera to draw from the
same power source while enhancing image
usability in near complete darkness. Without
it, the system could need additional illumination
that would require more energy and
could reveal the camera’s field of view to
potential intruders.

“Getting a clear visual image, being able to
capture that person’s face and send it to school
administrators for identification,” Director of
Risk Security Emergency Management for
Rock Hill Schools Kevin Wren said. “That
works perfectly to identify the perpetrator.”

Improved Safety with Significant
Costs and Energy Savings

Rock Hill was able to maintain its “campus
blackout” approach without sacrificing
safety and security. In fact, the security of
the school buildings has been enhanced,
with a lower number of incidents reported.
At the same time, the 27 schools had significant
electrical savings. In terms of lighting
costs Melander estimates that the campus
blackout policy can save approximately
$3,500 for an elementary school, $7,000 for
a middle school and up to $10,000 for a
high school.

“The system that had the best crimedeterring
capability was also very good with
sustainability,” Cox said. “Safety is first but
efficiency is also very important for the taxpayer.
Every dollar you’re spending on the
operational side, you’re not spending on the
academic side. We very much want to keep
our cash in the classroom.”

In addition, all Axis equipment is designed
to be as energy-efficient as possible, further
augmenting the school district’s policy to maximize
sustainability whenever possible.

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2019 issue of Campus Security & Life Safety.